Council looks to increase charges for top water users

Kathleen Petty

Published 4:30 pm, Saturday, March 17, 2012

If you want a green lawn this summer, it's likely going to cost you.

The Midland City Council will consider on Tuesday enacting a rate structure that would multiply by five the charges of residents and businesses who fall within the top two tiers of water users. Anyone who uses less than 10,000 gallons of water per month will not see their bill changed if the structure is approved.

After a year of non-compliance to the water restrictions by some people, Mayor Wes Perry described the potential rate changes as a necessary enforcement tool. It's not necessarily what the city wants to do, he said. But, data shows the method works.

"We know that raising rates has an impact on people," Perry said, speaking when the proposal was first raised. "You hate to do it that way, but that works actually. We think that that's going to help encourage people to think about it differently."

Leaders in other cities around the region agree with the strategy: When residents' pocketbooks are impacted, their behaviors typically change. However, they added, education and incentives to encourage conservation also are important.

Bottom line impact

The city of Midland already has a tiered water rate structure. Top tier users pay about $1.24 more per thousand gallons purchased than those in the lower tier.

Council will consider penalizing those who use between 10,000 and 25,000 gallons of water per month with an increased rate of $19.55 per thousand gallons instead of the current $3.91 per thousand gallons rate.

Those who use more thatn 25,000 gallons of water will pay $22.50 per thousand gallons instead of $4.50 per thousand gallons.

Customers who use more than 10,000 gallons of water for indoor use alone will be exempt from the increases.

Jerry Morales, councilman at-large, said the council could discuss changing the usage levels at which prices would increase. Morales said the council intends to implement the change when the details are finalized Tuesday.

"We really have got to be stringent about this drought now," he said. "Spring is here."

Bart Miller, water program director at Western Resource Advocates, an environmental law and policy organization, said tiered water rates that encourage lower usage have become common in recent years, particularly in the southwest.

"The general rule from what I've seen through the southwest region is that the rates do have an impact on use," Miller said.

In most states, he said outdoor water use accounts for about half of all annual water purchases. In places like Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas, expending that much water on lawns simply has become unfeasible for some.

However, getting residents to change their ways when they're used to green lawns in a dessert -- as was the case in several cities -- has required some shifts in policy, he said.

"The last decade has seen a big transformation," he said.

Some cities multiply the cost of water for the highest users throughout the year to incentivize lower use. Others have implemented separate winter and summer rates where residents will incur a surcharge if their summer use exceeds their winter use by a certain percentage.

"Even if you did it just for a year, you'd probably see changes in behavior," Miller said about price increases. "Especially if you give advance warning."

Case studies

El Paso uses a seasonal rate structure and a host of other programs It saw its metered water use drop by about 1,875 million gallons per year between 2000 to 2009, despite having about 32,430 more retail customers on the books. In addition to multiplying the cost of water for the highest summer users, incentives are given to those who will replace turf with concrete, gravel or desert plants.

Albuquerque, N.M., residents have faced an excessive summer-use charge during the past 15 years.

Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority users each buy an average of 7,000 gallons per month during the winter, said water conservation officer Katherine Yuhas.

In the summer, Albuquerque residents can use twice the amount of water than they are permitted to use during an average winter month. Their bill can be multiplied by as much as 2.5 times, depending on how much they've gone over.

"On an average month, about 30 percent of our customers are getting a surcharge," she said.

Initially, the city had restricted outdoor water use to three days per week, like Midland did last spring. However, Yuhas said, the city found water use actually went up because most customers took advantage of all three of their permitted watering days, even if they hadn't previously watered that much.

Increasing the cost of water contributed to changing mindset, she said. The city also started a massive education initiative and an incentive program to help people understand water conservation is important.

Now, residents are not restricted to a certain day of watering. Instead, they're asked to water during hours of low-evaporation and to water only once a week in the spring, twice a week in the summer and once a week again in the fall.

"We put a lot of energy into getting our customers to follow that voluntarily," she said.

The water utility authority doesn't need everyone to keep water use at winter levels, she said. They just need the majority of residents to be conscious about conservation.

"We have a lot of components to the water conservation plan, and rates are one part of that. We do a lot of education programs that are very effective. We have rebate programs that nobody else has," Yuhas said.

Cities in New Mexico and Texas, including San Antonio and Austin, have offered incentives for xeriscaping, installing water-wise toilets, attending a conservation class and installing a rainwater harvesting system.

Several cities host low-flow showerhead giveaways and provide free consultations to those who want to learn how to lower water usage. Some cities even require rain sensors on sprinklers so outdoor water is only used when necessary.

"The biggest aim that we have is to reduce discretionary outdoor watering," said Sarah Gatewood, spokeswoman for the San Antonio Water System, which has a year-round tiered water rate structure that increased costs on customers in fall 2010. "We did get a notable increase in calls once our rates went into effect. It's not the only thing that we're doing, so it's hard to tell whether it's attributable to our education programs or other things."

Midland council members have discussed offering incentives for xeriscaping or installing water-wise appliances. Morales said the proposed rate increase will be one of the main factors in gaining compliance when water restrictions start April 1.

A balancing act

Miller said cities and utility providers have to be cognizant of how much they want to reduce water usage when setting rates.

Providing water involves certain fixed costs, so entities should not decrease usage so much that they're no longer able to support their system. It has happened in other areas, and water suppliers have been forced to increase their base rate simply to keep the system going.

City of Midland officials have said they are aware of this issue but they are not concerned about it right now.

Customers will have more water to use next summer because a contract with the Midland County Utility District No. 1 was signed. Water from the city's T Bar Ranch property will be delivered to Midland by May of 2013.

Conservation always will be important, council members said. However, residents won't have to trade in their shrubs for gravel. There will be more water for outdoor use next summer than is available this summer.

Perry said he's aware some Midlanders will use as much water as they want and bear the increased cost so they can save their lawns this year. But, he said the city is hopeful these residents in be will be in the minority of water customers.

The city of Midland needs to keep its water deliveries at or below 18.5 million gallons per day. In 2011, according to a graph provided by the city, there were no days between April and Aug. 1 where Midland used less than 18.5 million gallons per day.

The proposed rate increase and restrictions that will allow for two hours of outdoor watering on one day per week are meant to change that. If the proposed rate structure is approved Tuesday, all water customers will receive a letter showing them their water use during May through September of 2011 and what their bill will be if that use remains level this year.

"This is serious business, and we're taking it seriously," said John James, councilman for District 3, speaking about the restrictions.

Kathleen Petty can be reached at kpetty@mrt.com.

We looked at a sample of 10 water users from throughout Midland to see what their rates could be this summer if their usage remains the same and the higher rate structure is approved on Tuesday.

Month Water Use 2011 charge 2012 charge*

1) May 15,000 $56.39 $138.18

July 25,000 $90.29 $333.68

Sept. 9,000 $36.26 $37.17

2) May 2,000 $14.00 $14.35

July 2,000 $14.00 $14.35

Sept. 3,000 $17.18 $17.61

3) May 54,000 $196.43 $986.18

July 14,000 $53.00 $118.63

Sept. 13,000 $49.61 $99.08

4) May 9,000 $36.26 $37.17

July 10,000 $39.44 $40.46

Sept. 9,000 $36.26 $37.17

5) May 37,000 $134.21 $603.68

July 44,000 $159.83 $761.18

Sept. 40,000 $145.19 $671.18

6) May 14,000 $53.00 $118.63

July 12,000 $46.22 $79.53

Sept. 6,000 $26.72 $27.39

7) May 3,000 $17.18 $17.61

July 2,000 $14.00 $14.35

Sept. 3,000 $17.18 $17.61

8) May 8,000 $33.08 $33.91

July 11,000 $42.83 $59.98

Sept. 9,000 $36.26 $37.17

9) May 1,000 $14.00 $14.35

July 2,000 $14.00 $14.35

Sept. 5,000 $23.54 $24.13

10)May 13,000 $49.61 $99.08

July 15,000 $56.39 $138.18

Sept. 7,000 $29.90 $30.65

*2012 charges are proposed. Names and addresses of water charges looked at are not included because they are protected by the Texas Public Information Act.